A Murder Of Crows {26} END

"Please make sure you're dressed in your cap and gown with appropriate shoes. The dress code for graduation is posted online at the Academy's website, and was emailed to all seniors," Headmaster Crowe said. "Your families are welcome on campus, and you can use your dining points to buy them meals in the dining hall. The ceremony will start promptly at 9 a.m., so be in the waiting area no later than 8:45 so we can get you in your lines. The campus will be hosting an after party right after the ceremony, and the school store will be open during that party. You and your families are all welcome, and you're also welcome to take pictures on campus."

This was information that had already been emailed to us, which bored me endlessly. I checked the time, wondering if this speech would ever end.

"You should all be very proud of yourselves. We'll see you here tomorrow morning. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask any of the staff," Headmaster Crowe said. "You're all dismissed. Make sure you get a good night's sleep."

Kids got up, talking amongst each other. We'd just finished our graduation ceremony practice.

"He talks forever," Aria said, coming up to me. "I thought that was never going to end."

I stretched a little, cracking my back. "Same. He already emailed us the information. I don't know why we had to go over it again."

"He was just making sure everyone had it down," Jamison said, him and Kenz joining us. "It's an important day."

"It's just graduation," Aria said.

"It's a big step for all of us," Jamison said. "We're not going to be kids anymore."

"Let's get out of here. It's too hot," I said.

We filed out of the building, heading outside. It was a nice day out, a light breeze keeping it from being too hot. Everyone seemed relieved to be out in the fresh air again.

"You're coming to the after party, right?" Jamison said. "I'll help you move your stuff out after."

My parents weren't coming to graduation. They said anyone could graduate high school, and college was the only graduation that would even matter. They'd also said I was capable of moving my stuff back home on my own.

Jamison seemed angry when I told him that, but it didn't bother me. I was capable of moving my stuff back home on my own. Besides, why would my parents come to my high school graduation? It was just my name being called amidst everyone else's, and me walking up to grab a piece of paper. It would've been a waste to sit there for two hours just to watch that.

Still, Jamison insisted I come to the after party with everyone. He'd also invited me out to dinner with his parents and his grandpa to celebrate graduation.

It would be the first time I met his parents. He was close with his family, and it actually made me a little nervous to meet them. Still, parents were just people. It would be fine.

"I'm going to the after party. You don't have to keep asking me," I said.

"I'm just making sure you haven't changed your mind," he said. "Let's go get lunch. I'm starving. Cole said him and Nia are already at the table."

The four of us made our way down to the dining hall. Most of the younger students had cleared off campus. Some had stayed to watch their friends graduate, and all the Crows were here to help with the ceremony.

We grabbed trays, stacking them with food before sitting down at the table with Cole and Nia. They greeted us as we sat.

"How was the practice?" Cole asked.

"A waste of time. It's not hard to walk across a stage when your name is called," Aria said.

"It was a little boring. Necessary, but boring," Jamison admitted. "What are your jobs tomorrow?"

"We're going to help you set it up, and then we pass out programs as families come in," Nia said.

"Bright and early for set-up," Jamison said with a sigh. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"But then you get to take a break over the summer," Kenz said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You better use it to relax."

"I plan to," Jamison said, and looked over at me. "We're going down to my family's camp with them next month. A few days on the lake will be good for my stress levels."

"And our road trip," Cole said, grinning. "That'll be good for your stress levels."

"Driving with you is going to give me a stress-induced heart attack," Jamison said. "You pay more attention to the radio than the road."

"Oh, it'll be fine," Cole said dismissively.

"Do you two have any plans?" Nia asked me and Aria.

"Just discovering the discovered," Aria said. Nia furrowed her brow in confusion, but I shot Aria a private smile. That was her way of saying we'd go back to exploring the area behind her house, like the old days when we were children.

Cole looked over and frowned. I followed his gaze, spotting Kieran and Mia grabbing trays together.

They'd stayed close, bonded together by their own tragedies and mistakes. Val had disappeared from the picture, though I'd seen her around campus with various groups of kids her own age. She would only ever catch my eye and wink, but never say anything.

The Doctor's empire surely had crumbled. With his name from Val, the police quietly tracked down his network before moving in and arresting all of them. I'm sure several had escaped and fled, but they'd caught all the big players, including the Doctor himself.

His real name was Nicholas Valentino, and his arrest was huge news in the area. Crowe Academy was credited with helping to bring him down, though students' names were never leaked to the media. Those who had stepped forward were protected by the Academy, Kieran included.

Cole stood up, and Jamison copied him. After a moment of hesitation, Kenz got up with them.

Kieran passed by our table, trying to ignore them. But Cole put a hand out and caught his arm, and Kieran and Mia reluctantly faced the group.

"Will your parents be here tomorrow?" Cole asked.

"Yes," Kieran said, shrugging Cole's hand off his arm.

"Mia?" Kenz asked.

Mia glared. "My dad and Caleb will be here, yea."

"I'll be there too," Cole said, meeting Kieran's eyes.

"Not for me," Kieran said. "I won't look back when I step off that stage."

"I will. All the time. It won't change anything. It won't change you," Cole said.

"Have a good life, Kieran," Jamison said, his voice sincere.

"You should join a gymnastics team in college," Kenz said to Mia. "You'll lose your touch if you don't."

Kieran and Mia just looked at each other and walked away, too tired to fight a pointless war anymore. They didn't have to forgive the Crows. That didn't mean they had to hate them forever, though.

The three sat back down. Kieran and Mia had both gotten part-time jobs in town not too long after everything fell apart. They'd kept their heads down around the Academy, and carefully avoided me and the Crows.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Cole asked Jamison.

"He's a fighter. I just hope he puts that to good use," Jamison said.

It didn't sound like Kieran's mom would live too much longer. He'd have to endure that and all the anger that would come with it. But that would be his battle, and there was nothing any of us could do to help him fight it.

"Oh, good news, Cole! Jill's officially being interviewed this summer for the Crow position," Kenz said.

Cole groaned. "No. Please, no. I can't take your sister getting on my ass about not being lazy."

"Come on, the new Crow president is going to let a 14 year old girl beat him down?" Jamison teased. "Gotta do better than that, Cole. I need to know this Academy is in good hands."

"It's in fantastic hands, Jamie. I'm just tired of having so many new parents," Cole said.

"Do your job, and Jill has nothing to scold you about," Kenz said. "She'll report back to me."

"Who else is joining the Crows?" I asked.

"Kenz's little sister, Jill," Jamison said. "And then a junior boy, and a sophomore girl Nia recommended."

"She's a really hard worker!" Nia said. "I thought she'd be a great fit for the Crows. She's already had her interview and been approved."

"You guys better work hard," Jamison said, slinging an arm around Nia's shoulders. "I'm trusting you."

Nia's eyes widened with pride and she smiled. "Of course, Jamie! You can count on us!"

We began to eat and talk about summer plans. The seniors had already decided on their colleges. Jamison was going to a college a little less than an hour away so he could stay close to his family, and I'd decided on a college about two hours away, which happened to be the same college Aria had decided on. I could never quite escape her, it seemed. The thought almost made me smile.

When we were done eating, Jamison and I said goodbye to the others. I followed Jamison back to his dorm, where there were several half-packed boxes.

"You don't have to help me," he said as he started folding his clothes up and packing them into a box.

But I shrugged and began emptying the things from his desk into a smaller box. "I already said I would. My room was easy to pack up."

"Well, thanks for helping me out. I really appreciate it," he said. "My parents are excited to meet you tomorrow. Sorry in advance for my grandpa. He can come off a little harsh, but he means well."

"I'm not worried about it," I said.

"It's still hard to believe that we graduate tomorrow. It's a little scary," he said, laughing nervously.

"What's there to be scared of? We graduate, we enjoy the summer, and we go right back to studying," I said. "It's not like we graduate and instantly become adults. We have time before we lose our souls to a full time job."

"I guess you're right," he said. "I wish I could be as calm about it as you are."

"Well, that's the difference between us," I said.

"How about some music?" he offered, pulling his phone out. "Any requests?"

"Music's not really my thing. Play whatever you want," I said, moving on to his textbooks. "Any of these you're reselling?"

"Oh, yea, the ones with the green sticky notes on them," he said. "Just put those aside and I'll take care of them." He scrolled through his phone before settling on a song.

"You came and, you came and found me when I was going under, going under. I didn't, I didn't know I could drown in shallow water, shallow water." The music filled the room, covering the comfortable silence between us.

We packed up Jamison's room, his music a background noise that I easily tuned out. It took us about two hours to get everything put away, but then his room was as empty as mine, the boxes stacked up against the wall and only his bedding and clothes for tomorrow left out.

"Thanks for the help," he said, giving me a quick kiss.

It had become an easy rhythm. Kisses stole in moments alone, hands brushing together when we walked alongside each other, shoulders pressed together when we sat next to each other, study sessions ending up with us falling asleep in a bed together.

It was a slow buildup of trust and comfort on both sides. We made our boundaries clear, and Jamison helped me express what I was feeling. He tended to blurt out honest things that had me blushing and hitting him in the shoulder. My own words were much more carefully chosen.

We laid on his bed together, his around curled around my back, pulling me against his side. I let my head drop against his shoulder, taking my sunglasses off as they pressed uncomfortably against my ear.

"Tomorrow will be such a big day," he said, turning his head so he was facing me. He kissed my hair before resting his chin on it. "Everything really is changing."

"It is," I agreed. "But it has been for a while now."

"Things always change," he mumbled. He moved his head so he could meet my eyes. "We're growing up and learning to take risks, right?"

"Don't be sappy," I said, already knowing where this was going to go.

"Will you let me officially call you my boyfriend, Cor?" he said.

I thought it over carefully, because this was a big decision. Jamison waited patiently, having learned how I liked to weigh important decisions before giving an answer.

A future with Jamison. A commitment. A title. Something more permanent than a fleeting kiss.

"Yes," I said.

He smiled wide, his face a blur without my glasses but his joy unmistakable. "What a year, huh?"

"What a year," I echoed, and leaned forward to kiss him.

Nothing had turned out like I thought. Life was no longer a game; it was real, something to be enjoyed.

Jamison picked up his vibrating phone, checking the message on it. "Cole, Nia, and Kenz want us to meet them at the Nest. They want to go for a walk since it's a nice day out."

"I'll text Aria in a little to join us. Tell them we'll be there in a half hour," I said. I wasn't ready to get up yet. I was enjoying my time here with Jamison. We'd have a whole summer to lay together, but something about this moment had a calmness to it I didn't want to lose just yet.

Jamison replied and tossed his phone aside, pulling me even closer to him. He rested his head against mine, looking content.

"This is what I want," I said quietly.

"Then this is what we have," he said.

We'd been Collectors. They'd been a murder of Crows. Everything had come apart and been put back together for something new, something better, something stronger.

We'd never escape our pasts. That was okay. We'd learn, and build a stronger future.

I held Jamison's hand, feeling the warmth of it, the strength of his grip. I'd found what I really wanted, and the smile on my face was pure happiness, an emotion I was experiencing so much these days.

I listened to the sound of Jamison breathing beside me. It was a sound I found calming.

Life had come full circle. Now we'd take everything inside that circle and shape it into something even better, together.

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A.N.- Thank you so much to everyone who read this story! It was a bit of an experiment for me, and certainly not my best work. I had a lot of problems with it. Shout out to the NFJC squad for letting me bitch about this story constantly, and to Mika for loving Jamison more than his own parents do probably. And shout out to everyone who encouraged the story despite the mess it turned into at times!

Please let me know what you thought of it! Like I said, it was more of an experiment than anything, so I'd like to know what people thought of the story and the characters.

If for some reason you want to see more of these characters, you can always head on over to my prompt account "promptingskenekidz" and send requests!

Thank you again for reading, voting, and commenting. I really appreciate it!